Lord Derby Scheme comic postcard 6

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Bamforth & Co. Ltd

1915

Overview

Colourful comic postcard featuring a young boy with a round face, big eyes and rosy cheeks, looking a bit dishevelled.
His hair is messy, his blue jumper and cream shirt are rumpled and his brown checked shorts are patched. He is wearing blue and white striped socks which have fallen down and his black shoes appear to have holes in them.,
However, he is wearing an oversized Lord Derby Scheme armband on his left arm and is obviously hoping that by having that, he will become more appealing.
The caption reads "I wonder if she'll love me now?'
Around the outside of the card is a golden brown line with a red crown in the centre of each side. This matches the colour of the armband.
The reverse of the card has a poem written by Rose Terry Cooke and the name of the person who wrote it, along with the date and publisher's details.
This card is one of a series called 'Witty Armlet' produced by Bamforth & Co. Ltd. There are several in the collection.

Historical information

The Lord Derby Scheme armbands were worn by men who had formally volunteered for Army Service but who had yet to be issued with a uniform.
The scheme was introduced in November 1915 by Lord Derby, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (1865–1948) after which it was named. He was Lord Kitchener's choice for Director General of Recruiting.
The scheme represented a final attempt to avoid full-scale Conscription.
Men aged between 18 & 41 were asked to attest their readiness to serve in the British Army, on the understanding that all single men would be called up before the youngest married volunteers.
Unfortunately by the scheme’s closing date of December 1915, more than a million men had failed to come forward, resulting in compulsory military service being introduced in January 1916.

Many humorous postcards were released around this time to encourage men to enlist.

The verses quoted are the second and third stanzas of a poem entitled 'Then' by American author and poet, Rose Terry Cooke (1827-1892).

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-119-RoW00255

Item type

Collectibles

Ephemera

Postcards

Themes

Social History
War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Material